Even Zach Braff admits that his latest role — as someone with serious doubts about his life, including his relationship with his pregnant girlfriend — may be his riskiest to date.
The likably goofy star of TV's "Scrubs," as well as the independent film "Garden State" (which he also wrote and directed), plays a young architect in the comedy-drama "The Last Kiss."
"As fun as it is to always play the nice guy who always does the right thing, that does get a little boring as an actor," the 31-year-old said by phone from New York City, where he was promoting the film.
He added that his character, Michael, "is just a really human guy who may be making a terrible mistake."
The mistake is the character's flirtation with a rather brazen college student, played by "The O.C.'s" Rachel Bilson. "More than anything, Michael is insecure, and he's worried about his future. He's feeling like he's trapped in his life by some of the decisions he's made. Who hasn't experienced that?"
The challenge for Braff was to convey that insecurity, and, hopefully, make the character more appealing than he probably should be. "If audiences like Michael a little better by the time the movie's over, or if they don't hate him at least, then I've done my job."
The existential and emotional dilemmas facing Braff's character, as well as other characters in the film, are pretty dramatic. In fact, the film itself is much heavier than fans of "Scrubs" and "Garden State" may be expecting. "That's what I liked about it. When I read this script, it really spoke to me. I see so many scripts that are just silly comedies. There's nothing wrong with that, but I wanted to do something that was more honest," Braff said.
He also had praise for Oscar-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis ("Crash"), who wrote the script for this remake of a 2001 Italian film. "When I read his script, I couldn't believe that any studio would want to make it. It just felt so real and honest. So I told them I wouldn't do the film unless they left the script intact."
As Braff's star continues to rise, so does his ability to have a little sway regarding such decisions. He even chose three songs for the film's soundtrack, just as he chose songs for "Garden State." "The studio people were fans of what I did there," since the "Garden State" soundtrack CD went platinum. "And so was (director Tony Goldwyn). As it turns out, we have pretty similar taste in music."
Braff said it was rewarding to work with Goldwyn, another actor-turned-filmmaker. "Tony believes in the collaboration process, which is a dream for any actor. Of course, he wasn't afraid to tell me to shut up or put me in my place. It was his film, after all."
In addition to "The Last Kiss," Braff has also completed work on the romantic comedy "Fast Track," with Amanda Peet and Jason Bateman. And he has already shot three episodes of the sixth "Scrubs" season.
However, he's been forced to put his next directorial effort, a remake of the 2002 Danish drama "Open Hearts," on hold. "With a television show in production, I've got limited time for movie projects, and this is not something that I want to rush along."
Braff's name has been brought up in connection with a new "Fletch" film, a prequel to the two Chevy Chase comedies. Especially now that "Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence has signed on to write and direct that project.
So is Braff actually the first choice to play wisecracking investigative journalist Irwin Fletcher? Braff would only say, "That's something that's still being discussed, so I can't really talk about it too much.
"It would be really great if it happens, though."
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com